Although various automatic focusing devices are known in the camera industry, it has been found that certain problems have been encountered in adapting such devices for commercial use. For example, due to the complexity of the mechanisms heretofore utilized to adjust the focus setting of the objective lens in response to variations in the camera-to-object distance, such systems have proven to be unsatisfactory because of their expense and general lack of reliability.
The present invention has been developed in order to overcome such problems by providing a relatively simple and inexpensive coupling mechanism between the adjustable focusing cell of the camera objective lens and a camera-to-object distance evaluating system. The coupling mechanism of the present invention offers a high degree of focusing accuracy and reliability under the most demanding operating conditions.